Rear Brake Calliper

[mulletd]

After much head scratching I'm finally resorting to the thing that I should have done first ... ask the experts!

I removed the wheels from my 1100GS in order to have some new tyres fitted. New tyres were duly ftted onto old hoops and the wheels put back onto bike without a hitch.

Front Callipers fitted without a problem, but I just cannot get the rear brake calliper back onto the wheel at all. I have tried with the rear wheel off of the bike, loosely fitted and tightly fitted without success.

There isn't enough space between the calliper bracket and the brake pad (not the piston pad) to slide the brake disc into. Meanwhile, the brake pad closest to the pistons are approx 1/4" from the bracket so probably, as it stands, wouldn't touch the disc once it was installed.

Does the calliper move inside the bracket and if so, how do I do this? Should I pump the brake to try and move the gap?

For what they're worth, I've attached a couple of pics that may make sense of my inane dribblings (but probably not).

Thanks, mechanically incompetent Steve

 

[Sergeant Pluck]

Does the calliper move inside the bracket and if so, how do I do this? Should I pump the brake to try and move the gap?

If I'm understanding the problem correctly, and if it's not that different from an 1150, then the answer is yes! The whole caliper should shift, moving the (small, if the pads are new) gap back and forth allowing you to slip the whole assembly over the disc.

Pluck.

 

[cral]

have you taken the top off the master cylinder so you can push the piston back ( gentle pressure ) just loosen the top of the m.c so you do not spray everything. if the brake cali is not moving freely in the bracket it really wants to be looked at, it probably just wants a strip and clean

 

[northengit]

Have you fitted new b/pads ??? looking at the picture is a little difficult to see whats wrong but sounds like your just snagged up a little nothing to worry about ....make sure you've gently eased the pistons back which allows the brkt more room and check the pad nearest the brkt has seated nice and straight, its a fiddley but your talking a few mm here and there makes all the difference.

 

[Keith Chapman]

Have you got the pads in the right way round. I thought that one rear pad is thicker than the other, if the pads were switched would that move your clearence gap too, allowing the disc to slide in??

 

[ELIMINATOR]

The pad on the spoked side is the thinner of the two, I know because I took the caliper off to clean it earlier this evening. Took me a bit of fiddling to get it back on; assuming that you haven't touched the brake pedal / lever, it is just a matter of fiddling it. It might be worthwhile taking the pads out and giving it all a clean anyway now that the caliper is off. The pads just might slide from side to side a bit easier then.
I've read that the pad location pin can get grooved which stops the pads from moving freely.
Hope that hepls.